Berlin

The power and influence of Prussian achievements are evident in Berlin, one of the world’s most fascinating cultural capitals. Since it spread out on both sides of the Spree River in the 13th century, the city has been strategically important, but never in its history has it taken center stage as it did in the 20th century. Here, in its grand public buildings, great museums and theaters, urban restaurants, crowded pubs and smoky nightclubs, beats the heart of Germany. Today, Berlin is once again the nation’s capital and the focal point of the mammoth reunification project. Nowhere else can you feel the pulse of the country as well as here.

Berlin is easy to explore on foot. Take time for a walk along Unter den Linden from Alexanderplatz to the Brandenburg Gate. Nearby is the Kulturforum, a group of museums and concert halls in the southeast of Tiergarten that will take days to visit. The same goes for the Museum Island.

Munich

If you scratch Munich’s beer-soaked sausage-belly image, you’ll find a city that’s as cosmopolitan as many other cities in Europe. From the giddy elegance of the grand shopping streets to the Schuhplättler dancing in the beer cellar, the people of Munich know how to have a good time. Munich is a compact and friendly mix of intricate elegance and lack of inhibition, with more theaters than any other German city, wonderful museums and magnificent parks – and, of course, a few thousand beer cellars.

There’s no getting around the Deutsches Museum, the world’s largest museum of science and technology: with its many hands-on exhibits and demos of fascinating human achievements from mining to astronomy, there’s no room for boredom. The English Garden is one of the largest inner-city parks in Europe, and, yes that’s right, the businessmen you just saw downtown are the same ones now sunbathing naked on the manicured lawn!

If you’ve had enough of city life, there are plenty of excursions you can take from Munich: On a clear day, the Bavarian Alps beckon from afar, and the Romantic Road, which runs through picturesque villages like Rothenburg ob der Tauber in western Bavaria, is also worth a visit. A more melancholy destination awaits northwest of the city: the grim Dachau concentration camp.

Frankfurt

Frankfurt am Main (so named so that American generals would learn to distinguish it from Frankfurt an der Oder) is the geographic and financial center of western Germany. Its residents produce an above-average share of Germany’s wealth. Over 10% of the city’s budget goes to culture; Frankfurt has the richest collection of museums in the country. The Städel owns an almost outrageous number of masterpieces and a world-class collection ranging from the Renaissance to the 20th century. The Museum of Modern Art also boasts a first-class collection. Frankfurt’s vibrant music scene includes jazz musicians of a particularly high caliber. Equally noteworthy is the deceptively, surprisingly strong local apple wine, Frankfurter Ebbelwoi. About 1500 trains pass through the city every day, so you can reach practically any place in Germany from here. To the charming romantic mountain town of Marburg, 100 km north of Frankfurt, a train leaves every hour. The atmosphere of the lively student town full of historic and lovingly restored half-timbered houses from the 15th century is best experienced on the numerous café terraces and in the smoky pubs, from which noise and laughter spill out at night onto the cobblestone streets of the city center.

Rhine Valley

The Rhine is at its most romantic between Mainz and Koblenz, where dramatic landscapes full of fertile vineyards on steep slopes, numerous impressive castles and dreamy little villages appear around every bend. Every small village here celebrates at least one wine festival a year. The most famous is the Rhine in Flames, a whole series of festivals in which water, lighting and fireworks combine to create sensational visual effects. The best time to visit the Rhine Valley is at the beginning of spring or in late autumn, when the swarms of tourists have lost their way. The very best way to experience the Rhine Valley is by boat. A more rewarding romantic alternative is a cruise on the Moselle.

Not far north of Koblenz is Cologne, with its wonderful cathedral crowned by two magnificent Gothic towers. However, there is much more to see here than just the cathedral. South of Frankfurt is Heidelberg with its magnificent Renaissance castle.

• Bamberg
• Celle
• Freiburg
• Lindau
• Lübeck
• Regensburg
• Rothenburg ob der Tauber
• Schwerin
• Stuttgart
• Trier
• Weimar

• Bavarian Forest National Park
• Berchtesgaden National Park
• Black Forest National Park
• Eifel National Park
• Hainich National Park
• Harz National Park
• Hunsrück-Hochwald National Park
• Jasmund National Park
• Kellerwald-Edersee National Park
• Lower Oder Valley National Park
• Müritz National Park
• Saxon Switzerland National Park
• Wadden Sea National Park
• Western Pomerania Lagoon National Park

• Alpsee
• Bodensee
• Brombachsee
• Chiemsee
• Eibsee
• Fünfseenland (Starnberger See, Ammersee, Wörthsee, Pilsensee and Weßlinger See)
• Königssee
• Müritzsee
• Mummelsee
• Schluchsee
• Steinhuder Meer
• Tegernsee & Spitzingsee
• Titisee
• Walchensee
• Zwischenahner Meer

• Braunfels Castle
• Burghausen Castle
• Cochem Castle
• Drachenburg Castle, Bonn
• Eltz Castle near the Moselle River
• Frankenstein Castle near Darmstadt
• Heidelberg Castle
• Herrenchiemsee Castle
• Hohenschwangau Castle
• Hohenzollern Castle
• Lichtenstein
• Löwenberg Castle, Kassel
• Mespelbrunn Water Castle
• Neuschwanstein Castle, Schwangau
• Sanssouci Palace in Potsdam
• Schwerin Castle
• Wartburg Castle in Eisenach
• Wernigerode Castle

• Azalea and Rhododendron Park, Kromlau
• English Garden, Munich
• Flower Island, Mainau (Lake Constance)
• Herrenhäuser Gärten, Hanover
• Sanssouci Park, Potsdam
• Tiergarten, Berlin

• The German Wine Route or Wine Road (German: Deutsche Weinstraße).
• The Schwarzwaldhochstraße or Black Forest High Road.
• Rossfeldpanoramastraße.

Your expert for Germany